Page 53 of The Huntress

She threw her arm around Gabe and clung to him. One day she’d thank him for stroking her back, for the sweet kisses he gave her temple and hair.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked when her tears subsided.

“No, you were wonderful.” She twisted to kiss his palm still cupping her cheek. “I didn’t mourn my dad’s passing, and with Val’s illness, I needed to be strong for her.”

“I’d tell you that you have me now, but I suspect I’m part of what overwhelms you.” He buried his fingers in her hair and tilted her head to meet his gaze.

His gray eyes swirled with an intensity that snatched her breath. He brushed his lips across hers, and she moaned, loving the tingles that spread from his touch, his taste. Trailing kisses down her neck gave her a chance to breathe.

“I won’t lie to you, Gabe. I’m drowning here. Why me?” She shook her head, not wanting him to spew platitudes. She didn’t expect love confessions or tokens of an affection he shouldn’t be feeling. Not yet. “Please, no words of flattery, or promises of devotion. I’ve committed myself to you, and if love grows between us, I’ll be content.” She tugged him up to look at her. “As a suckblood, I anticipate many years for us to get to know one another.”

“All right, but I will tell you again—I wanted you when I saw you,” he said. “Trust me, this is stronger than lust.”

“That’s good, right?” She flashed a teasing smile before kissing his chin.

“Callie,” he said, his voice hoarse. He tightened his fingers on her hip, tugging her closer. “It’s better than good.”

His lips claiming hers zinged heat through her body, and she succumbed, more now than earlier since she knew what to expect. His arousal rested on her belly, and the promise of it had her meeting his kiss with her own ardor. She scraped her fingernails down his back to cup his tight backside. He growled and flipped her over, pressing the length of his body to hers and trapping her beneath him.

With his hips pinning her in place, he plundered her mouth, his hands stroking across her eager, pebbled nipples. She whimpered, burying her fingers in his hair, clinging to him. Stars shimmered behind her closed eyes, and the scent of him engulfed her. Hot skin, velvet heat, and decadent promises lingered between their needy bodies. He trailed his fingers lower, and as scintillating as his touch was, she needed him inside her. A compelling ache pulsed from her core with an urgency bordering obsession.

“Please,” she said, her voice husky. “Gabe, please.”

“So greedy,” he said with a chuckle, feathering kisses along her throat to her collarbone.

She wriggled until her legs were free to wrap around him, nestling him between her thighs.

He sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s playing dirty.” He gyrated his pelvis.

“I call it fair play,” she said on a breathless moan, gripping his hips with her thighs to yank him closer.

He rose, tilting his hips until his erection pressed at her entrance. With excruciating slowness, he slid in, a smirk curling his top lip upward. “Making demands of me?”

But she didn’t care what he said, or thought, as long as he filled her. She gasped in awe. The sensation of him stretching her raked shivers across her skin, sharpening her nipples before settling in her lower belly. Yes, she was tender from her first time, but he felt too good to deny.

“Callie,” he said, his voice hoarse, as a pained expression crossed his face.

She scraped her nails over his nipples, and he groaned, his eyes fluttering shut—long ebony lashes brushing his cheeks. He thrust in hard, and she cried out, gyrating her hips until she found the perfect angle. He hooked her leg over one shoulder then pistoned out and in.

She thrashed her head from side-to-side, as wave after wave of intense sensations burst outward. She screamed and arched off the bed, tossed over the orgasmic edge without fanfare. Floating in a sea of languor, she expected to see fireworks and hear a philharmonic orchestra, but none of that compared to the roar of pleasure wrenched out of Gabe as he orgasmed. A fine sheen of sweat coated them. He collapsed on top of her.

She smiled. If she could spend an eternity in this blissful state, she wouldn’t complain.

Chapter Nineteen

ON DUTY

“Wherethehellareyou?” Syl said through Gabe’s cell phone.

He removed it from his ear to frown at it, wondering why he’d bothered to answer.

He returned it to his ear. “I’m out.”

“Doing what? Are you with Devereaux?” Anger permeated the connection. Syl’s voice had a lethal quality to it. An angry Syl was never good. He tended to act rashly and repent later—if he chose to.

“Keeping her alive.” Gabe stared at his woman moving from shadow to shadow with her gun drawn. He’d started the conversion and with their numerous sexual antics, she was well on her way to being his wife.

He’d taken her to her apartment this morning to dress for work. As far as he sensed, she had no idea he hovered, watching. Yet, after the first day in the interview room, he knew better. Callie could see him, even if she didn’t reveal her awareness by word or deed.

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